The present invention relates to a door operator for power-operated door assemblies. More specifically, the present invention relates to an axial operator that mounts to a power-operated door assembly in a vertical orientation and that moves one or more door panels of the door assembly.
Conventional power-operated door systems typically comprise a frame, one or more door panels, a power-operated door operator for moving the door panel(s) between the open and closed positions thereof, and a controller that controls operation of the door operator. Typically, the door operators comprise an electric or hydraulic motor that rotates a motor output member and a reduction transmission that rotates an operator output member at a lower rotational speed and a higher torque than the motor output member. The operator output member is operatively connected to the door panel(s) so that rotation of the operator under power from the motor affects opening and closing movements of the door panel(s).
Examples of door operators that are designed for use with a swinging or balanced door are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,675,370 and 4,045,914. As can be appreciated from the disclosure of the ""914 patent, the axes of the motor and the reduction transmission are oriented horizontally at approximately 90xc2x0 with respect to the axis of the operator output member. This arrangement is provided to give the door operator a somewhat low vertical profile and so that it can be encased out of view in an overhead header that extends across the top of the frame assembly. However, because the motor and reduction transmission extend horizontally, the header must be provided with a relatively long horizontal dimension to house these components. Even though the header is provided with a low vertical profile, it still has a relatively large size compared to the size of other structural components in the frame assembly and hence can look aesthetically unbalanced. In this type of arrangement, it would be desirable from both an aesthetics viewpoint and a functional viewpoint to reduce header size or eliminate the header altogether. From a functional viewpoint, elimination of the header would increase the amount of available vertical height for the frame""s doorway without increasing the overall height of the frame.
There are also known swing door assemblies that have no header on the frame thereof. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,530 discloses a swing door assembly in which the motor and reduction gear arrangement thereof are housed in a box-like housing that is carried by the door panel. Movement of the door panel relative to the frame is affected via a linkage arrangement. One end of the linkage arrangement is connected to the top rail of the frame and the other end is connected to the reduction transmission carried within the housing on the door panel. While this arrangement eliminates the need for a header on the frame, it simply replaces the header with a housing carried on the door panel. As with the header, the size of the housing is determined by the components housed therein and it would be desirable to reduce the size of the housing or eliminate it entirely to improve the overall aesthetics of the door assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,834,081 discloses a door operator for a sliding door assembly that connects to a chain and sprocket arrangement. Operation of the door operator in the ""081 patent imparts rotational movement to the chain and sprocket assembly to thereby move the door panel(s) between the open and closed positions thereof. As with the arrangement of the above-mentioned ""914 patent, the operator and chain/sprocket arrangement of the ""081 patent are both housed in an overhead header with the operator extending horizontally over the top of the chain/sprocket arrangement. As a result, the vertical dimension of the header is determined both by the vertical extent of the chain/sprocket arrangement and the vertical extent of the operator. As with the arrangement described above in the ""914 patent with references to swing doors, reducing the vertical dimension of the header would improve the functional and aesthetic characteristics of the sliding door assembly""s frame.
As has been noted above with respect to various types of door assemblies, there is a desire to decrease the overall size of the structures that house the door operator and its associated components. In fact, it would be desirable to eliminate such housing structures entirely, if possible. To achieve this, it is necessary in turn to reduce the overall size of the door operator. Further, this door operator size reduction must be achieved without sacrificing the output torque of the operator. To date, no door operator has been provided in the art that achieves these goals.
Consequently, there exists a need in the art for an improved door operator that is both compact in size and has a sufficiently high torque output to enable it to be effectively used for moving the door panel(s) of a power-operated door assembly.
It is an object of the present invention to meet the above-described need. To achieve this object, the present invention provides a power-operated door assembly comprising a frame assembly, a door panel, and an axial operator. The frame assembly installs in an opening formed through a building wall and provides a doorway that permits persons to travel from one side of the building wall to the other side of the building wall. The door panel extends generally vertically and moves with respect to the doorway of the frame assembly. The power-operated door assembly may be a swing door, a sliding door, a bi-fold door, a balanced door, or a revolving door assembly, or any other type of power-operated door assembly.
The axial operator comprise a rotatable operator output member that rotates about a generally vertically extending operator axis. The operator output member is operatively connected within the door assembly such that rotation of the operator output member moves the door panel with respect to the doorway of the frame assembly as aforesaid. The operator also comprises an electric motor that has a rotatable motor output member that rotates about the operator axis. The motor selectively rotates the motor output member about the operator axis. A planet gear reduction transmission is connected between the motor output member and the operator output member. The reduction transmission is constructed and arranged such that the transmission rotates the operator output member at a lower rotational speed than a rotational speed at which the motor rotates the motor output member and applies a higher torque to the operator output member than a torque which the motor applies to the motor output member.
In particular, planet gear reduction transmission comprises (a) an orbit gear arranged generally coaxially with respect to the operator axis, (b) a planet gear carrier positioned radially inwardly of the orbit gear and arranged for rotation about the operator axis, and (c) a planet gear for each carrier the planet gear carrier has a mounting portion offset generally radially from the operator axis and the planet gear is rotatably mounted to the mounting portion of each planet gear carrier such that the planet gear rotates about a planet gear axis that extends through the mounting portion generally parallel to the operator axis. The planet gear is operatively connected to the motor output member and engaged with the orbit gear such that rotating the motor output member rotates the planet gear about its planet gear axis, which in turn causes the planet gear to rolling along the interior surface of the orbit gear in a generally circumferential direction with respect to the operator axis. This causes the planet gear carrier to rotate about the output axis at a lower rotational speed and at a higher torque than the rotational speed and torque at which the motor rotates the motor output member. The planet gear carrier is operatively connected to the operator output member such that rotation of the planet gear carrier as a result of the planet gear being rotated by the motor output member as aforesaid rotates the operator output member as aforesaid to thereby move the door panel with respect to the doorway of the frame assembly.
The number of planet gears and planet gear carriers of the reduction transmission may be varied to achieve a desired reduction gear ratio. Also, the dimensions of the orbit gears, planet gears, and gear carriers may likewise be varied to achieve a desired reduction gear ratio.
The door assembly of the present invention also comprises a controller communicated to the motor of the axial operator. The controller is operable to selectively control operation of the motor so as to selectively cause the motor to rotate the motor output member and thereby rotate the operator output member so as to move the door panel with respect to the doorway as aforesaid.
A related aspect of the invention relates to the axial door operator for use in a power-operated door assembly. This operator may be built into a pre-fabricated power-operated door assembly or may be provided as part of a retrofitting kit along with the controller for mounting to a standard non-powered residential or commercial door assembly to thereby convert the non-powered door assembly into a powered one.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.